Christopher125

IIRC there's at least one 390 fitted with monitoring equipment that's handy for testing new wiring.

Didn't they acquire a bubble car for route learning?

The DfT have gone cool on the Chiltern/Greenford plan, as described in this summer's GWR consultation response: - Consultees were asked if they agreed with or did not agree with proposals for transferring the West Ealing – Greenford branch service to Chiltern Railways... Of those who expressed an opinion, 70% agreed with the proposal to transfer Greenford branch services to Chiltern Railways - However, in respect of Greenford services, further examination suggests that providing rolling stock from Chiltern’s Wembley depot is unlikely to be operationally any easier than from GWR’s Reading depot, at least for as long as Reading depot retains a fleet of diesel trains. Thus some of the intended benefits of the proposed transfer to Chiltern may be less than we had first anticipated. Many respondents’ replies focussed on how best to provide a reliable and suitably frequent service on the Greenford branch rather than a specific preference for one franchise or the other. - Taking account of the consultation responses, we do not see a compelling case for requiring FirstGroup to implement [this proposal].

It needs to be severed while they remodel the Old Oak Common area for HS2, but this information paper states that "...the only line that would close is the eastern end of the Northolt and Acton Line (also known as the “Wycombe Single”) between Old Oak Common and Park Royal" which may well reopen anyway.

From what I gather electrification did not see track raised through Brading, Sandown and Shanklin though the latter has changed since - these stations still had their original low platforms so BR could save some cash.

It was actually very sensible - tunnels were already planned at either end (under Ruislip and into Old Oak Common), so when the true cost and disruption of a surface route in an urban area became clear, such as replacing most if not all bridges including those carrying the Hanger Lane gyratory, it proved cheaper and easier just to tunnel throughout. It also keeps the NNML open for other rail traffic.

While there's a clear trend away from traditional season tickets, passenger journeys have returned to growth - 3.1% in Q1 (April-June). Long distance was particularly healthy, increasing 4.7% for Virgin West Coast and 7.8% for East Coast.

The scope was cut back to Victoria-Miles Platting a little while back, any wiring through to Stalybridge would presumably now be covered by the Transpennine Upgrade - I gather this section, if upgraded, offers some relatively low-hanging fruit for cutting the journey time between Manchester and Leeds which may have influenced the decision?

The 350/2 is carrying a simplified livery as they'll be leaving the franchise - WMT are doing something similar with their 323s and 170s.

London Reconnections: Crossrail: Timetable for Success? "Sufficient information is now available, unofficially, so that we can be fairly sure of the exact service pattern now proposed for Crossrail in December 2019. Furthermore, we can have a good guess at how it may develop in the coming years. The good news is that the service pattern is better than we were generally led to expect. The bad news is that… well… incredibly, for once, there doesn’t seem to be any bad news" The big news has to be the proposed 2tph semi-fast service during the peaks from Reading (calling at Twyford, Maidenhead, Slough, West Drayton and Ealing Broadway only), alongside a 2tph stopping service. A similar semi-fast service will be provided by GWR off-peak.

True, but fortunately the K&ESR have had a 'big shed' for their carriage fleet since 2015: http://rvrailway.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-rolvenden-carriage-shed-is-official.html

IIRC it doesn't say it will extend to Market Harborough, though that is apparently under consideration.

88s have been working Doncaster-Millerhill departmental workings for some time now, as can be seen below

Looks like the same profile as most other modern train designs to me.

They are using a french design - Certification of 360km/h Overhead Catenary is latest step towards delivering Europe’s fastest railway

IIRC that only operated on the busiest Summer Saturdays - according to Brian Hardy's book the basic service back then was actually less frequent than today's, half hourly in summer and only hourly in winter.

There are wires are up for much of the distance between Theale and the Kennet Viaduct near Newbury Racecourse apparently.

I'm not aware of any requirement to run 4-car trains, and I can't remember seeing a pair of them since privatisation. While one 4-car was normal during the summer, the ban on guards using the interconnecting doors a few years back made them pretty impractical to operate - they did try and continue using second guard at busy times, but I guess SWT decided they could make do without. I've not seen that suggested before and I find it incredibly unlikely - even if the Elizabeth Line *does* have a notable impact, which I doubt, LU won't know how long that will last. This quote from TfL in a recent London Reconnections article is also worth noting: "Reliability performance has declined in the last three years and is projected to deteriorate further in the final six to eight years of asset life as it becomes more challenging to sustain reliability and availability whilst addressing an increasing volume of repairs" With declining reliability and availability, and no replacements until at least the mid 2020's, I really can't see LU disposing with even a single vehicle - it's not a luxury they can afford.

IIRC it was being used for testing ETCS through the Thameslink core, so has presumably served it's purpose.

Too long? The 7-car 345s currently being used are almost identical in length to a 8-car 387.

The next LU design is likely to be an articulated, walkthrough design - an Island Line version would be so different as to be essentially bespoke, it's hard to see that being justified if there's anything secondhand and easier/simpler/cheaper to maintain with the limited facilities available at Ryde. I've not heard of a shortage, they've only been running two units in recent years so a third spare should be sufficient. With 006 emerging from a lengthy overhaul last year, and 007 having taken her place (see below), I don't see any immediate cause for concern. 007 Ryde St Johns Road DSCF8949 by d33206hg, on Flickr

It's being developed with ProRail, Network Rail's Dutch equivalent so it shouldn't be a bespoke UK-only system.

I think that's been mentioned on the wnxx forum - Laira's been using a pair for training while they wait for the first 802s to be accepted, which I assume should be imminent.

I'm not aware of any - from what I gather Island Line is specifically excluded from the 'Railway (Interoperability) Regulations 2011', which is what requires all rolling stock on the 'interoperable rail system' to be compliant with PRM TSI by 2020. Island Line is similarly exempt from the 'mainline railway requirements' of 'Railways and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations (ROGS)'

They may well do but PRM TSI doesn't actually apply to Island Line, as mentioned in the South Western franchise prospectus: "Plans are in place for all classes of rolling stock within the current South Western fleet, within scope of the regulations, to be PRM TSI compliant by 1 January 2020. The Class 483 rolling stock, operated on the Island Line, are excluded from the requirements of these regulations"